Calm Before the Storm
by 1uvakindmom
Summary: Set three years after the end of the 1987 show, Shredder and Krang have managed to get the Technodrome working again and are up to no good. It's up to the Turtles to stop them, but no one ever said it was going to be easy this time...
1. Prologue

Shredder paced irritatedly across the lab of the Technodrome, his dwindling patience as brittle as dry grass on the Savannah. His cape billowed sharply behind him, echoing his mood. His mind was racing with uncontrolled, angry thoughts, buzzing of the past; constantly reminding him of previous failures and how he had not achieved what he had originally aspired to do when he left Japan so many years ago. He HATED relying on that _brain_ for anything! He was the SHREDDER, ultimate ninja and leader of the Foot Clan. Yet here he was, as he had been for the last three years, exiled in Dimension X, where he was an outsider and reliant on a disembodied brain.

Not a day had gone by that he had not pondered and reason for his losses...his dishonor...at the hands of the accursed Turtles and his old rival, Hamato Yoshi. They had continually defeated him at every turn. If _he_ had been calling the shots instead of running foolish errands and hair brained "rule the world" schemes concocted by Krang, he knew that he would have long ago been victorious.

He longed to return to Earth and reclaim his former glory, to enact his revenge on those wretched reptiles. He wanted REAL ninjas under his command instead of a pair of bumbling mutant punks and rickety robots.

His goals are what kept him sane, kept him from tearing the Technodrome apart piece by piece in his indignant rage. They were the reason he had overseen the reconstruction of the battle fortress, as he knew it was his only way home. He simply had to bide his time and continue along with Krang's plan.

The Shredder ceased his pacing and stopped to regard the containment chamber before him. Inside, Krang lay dormant, as he had for the last few months. A year ago, the ex-warlord had been going over his old experiments and believed he had finally found a way to reclone himself his old body.

*Flashback*

"Shredder!" came Krang's irritating, gurgly command. "Get in here!"

Shredder growled in annoyance at the interruption. He was working on rewiring the consoles in the main control room. Fixing the Technodrome had been a long, laborious process, since it had been so horribly destroyed.

"What is it Krang?" Shredder yelled as he entered the lab. "Why must you always bother me when I'm busy?"

Krang grinned widely. "You know I love watching you suffer, Saki."

Shredder growled and mumbled under his breath, "Someday you pretentious ganglion, someday..."

If Krang heard Shredder, he made no indication. His attention was drawn to the monitor before him. His pink tentacles were undulating swiftly in excitement his wordless pointing drawing Shredder's attention to the screen.

"Look Shredder and behold the answer to my ultimate victory!" Krang's voice cracked in his enthusiasm.

Shredder crossed his arms and raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Where have I heard that one before? And don't you mean _our_ victory?"

Krang chuckled sinisterly. "Of coooooourse Shredder, our victory."

Shredder narrowed his eyes, but remained silent.

Krang took that as his cue to continue. "All is going to plan, Saki. The Technodrome's extensive repairs should be finished in about one of your Earth years. By that time, it will be stronger than it ever was based on the modifications to the systems I designed." His tentacles pressed buttons as Technodrome schematics passed on the monitor.

"However," Krang resumed, "I have been aware for a long time that my might has been weakened by my...present bodily condition. Before I was stripped of my body, when I was lord of Dimension X...long before your grandparents were a glimmer in their parents' eyes..." Krang appeared ready to go on a tangent, but he stopped himself, eager to get to the reason he summoned Shredder.

"Anyways, after many years of research, I believe I have perfected a way for me to reclone myself into my former body. No longer will I have to rely on this bubble walker or awkward androids! I, Krang, will reign again!"

Shredder chuckled in mild amusement. "This is all fascinating," he remarked sarcastically, "but why should I care, and how are you sure this will all work? Isn't doing this to yourself based on a theory...risky?"

"Risky, yes," Krang's grin reappeared, "but I KNOW this will work. This research is based on the time I cloned myself years ago. My clones ended up growing bodies. For years I have worked on a way to get that process to work on myself, like an Earth starfish regenerating a limb. I will in essence infuse myself with clone DNA which I saved and it should cause my body to eventually regenerate.

"And that is where you come in, Shredder. Contrary to what you may believe I think of you, I am aware you are highly intelligent for a human. Your intelligence is, of course, nothing compared to mine, but enough to suit my purposes."

"Why should I help you, Krang? How do I know you won't just destroy me when you emerge and possibly decide you don't have use for me anymore?"

Krang chucked. "Ahh, Shredder, you are so predictable and paranoid. If I didn't have a use for you, don't you think I would have done away with you a long time ago?! And...you WILL help me because you NEED me to get back to Earth, yesssss?"

Shredder's jaw clenched in anger. He detested it when Krang threw it in his face that there were reasons he needed that pink blob. Admitting he needed anyone was the worst blow to the ninja villain's ego.

"Very well, Krang," Shredder's voice was gravelly and full of resentment. "I will help you."

"As I knew you would, Shredder. As I said, you are soooo predictable." Krang chortled, his tone carrying a slight air of superiority which made the human cringe internally. "Now pay close attention, as I do NOT feel like repeating myself. This process will take months. I unfortunately was not able to devise a way for this to be faster. I will have to remain in stasis in a containment chamber will my body is regenerating. I will need you to observe the controls and make sure everything remains stable. I have left detailed instructions for you."

Krang turned to look at Shredder, his purple eyes intense. "And just to make sure YOU don't get any ideas about doing ME in, I will have General Tragg supervising you."

"WHAT?!" Shredder snarled. "I do not need a babysitter, Krang!"

"Not a babysitter, Shredder," Krang said, "think of it as more of an assistant, for my piece of mind."

Shredder knew that was _far_ from the case. "A piece of mind is all you are, you annoying blob of neurons."

"Always with the compliments, Shredder! You _will_ cooperate, or you will never return to Earth...it's as simple as that." Krang's grin grew mocking.

It took all Shredder's will power and ninja discipline to not throttle the alien brain, but he had to admit to himself that Krang was correct. However, a slight feeling of unease began to creep into his mind like an unwanted house guest.

He had never known Krang before he lost his body and thus had never dealt with him at his full abilities (whatever they may be), so the prospect did make Shredder slightly nervous.

*End flashback*

Shredder ended his reverie and frowned in concern under his mask. The regeneration was almost complete, and to say Krang's new form wasn't intimidating would have been an outright lie. However, the portal was almost functioning again...

"Soon, Krang...soon," Shredder breathed. "I will put you in your place. Just you wait."

At just that moment, Krang's eyes flashed open, and his mouth opened into an enormous grin, flashing razor teeth.


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own TMNT…I'm just writing this for fun.

A/N: I hope this story is ok. I haven't written any fan fiction since I was a kid and just recently decided I wanted to delve into it myself. Hopefully this is a good read. I would love some feedback so I know how I am doing!

Patience was never one of Raphael's strong points. His brothers sometimes would joke that if it were an Olympic sport, he would be in dead last place.

"Is it ready _yet_?" Raph called impatiently from the table to Michelangelo who was busy cooking.

Mike donned brightly covered oven mitts and pulled the pizza out of the oven, pausing to admire his master piece as he placed it on the stove top.

"You cannot rush a glorious delicacy such as this, Raph," Mike admonished jokingly.

Raph laughed mockingly, "Mike, I would be reluctant to believe the words 'glorious delicacy' coming from your mouth."

Mike grinned slyly, "I dunno, dude, I think the ladies would beg to differ."

This caused Raph's irritation to slip and he burst out laughing. "Yah, let's push the crowd back and ask them all to take a number!"

Mike's grin grew even wider, happy to play along. "There's plenty of me to go around!"

Leonardo glanced up from the book he was reading, watching the banter between his brothers with a bemused glint in his eyes. Such conversations were normal for the two of them, and it never ceased to amaze Leo with what they came up with. His mind definitely didn't work that way.

"Speaking of plenty to go around," Leo spoke up. Mike lifted an amused eyebrow ridge and Leo's comment. Leo caught it and continued, "Meaning the _pizza_ and _not you_, Mike! Where's Donatello? I'm sure he would want some dinner too."

Mike began to slice the pizza. "Where he always is, dude, his lab."

"Yep," Raph chimed in, "He's been holed up in there so long now I wouldn't be surprised if he started communicating in beeps like one of his crazy computers!"

Leonardo closed his book and rose from his seat. "I'll go check. Sometimes I swear he gets so engrossed in his projects he'd forget to eat if we didn't remind him."

"And then Michelangelo eats enough for himself and Don!" Raph quipped as Leo left the kitchen.

He heard Mike protesting as he made his way to Donatello's lab. As he drew closer he heard the familiar sounds of Don's pounding and mumbling his techno-geek babble to himself.

He stepped inside and noted that Don was hunched over some device on his desk, his mutterings noticeably frustrated. A long forgotten coffee cup sat to the left of him, and a pile of various tools and machine parts were to the right. Leo could tell by Don's hunched shoulders that the bo wielding brother of his was exhausted.

Leo leaned against the wall and spoke, "When was the last time you took a break, Donatello?"

Donatello jolted in surprise, dropping his wrench to the ground with a clatter. He turned around quickly, his eyes narrowed in vexation at the disturbance.

"By Einstein's Theory of Relativity, Leonardo, give a turtle a heart attack, why don't you?" he said, his voice laced with displeasure.

Leonardo held his hands up. "Sorry, Don, just wanted to let you know that pizza's ready, and you need to eat. You haven't eaten all day." He lifted up Don's coffee cup. "Turtle cannot live by coffee alone."

Don snatched the cup from his older brother and took a sip to spite him, making a face at the bitter coldness of it. "So says the mighty Leonardo..."

Leo crossed his arms, his expression stern. Don noted it was his "I'm-the-leader-so-you-have-to-listen-to-me-no-arg uments" face, but the genius was flustered with his device, and not in the mood for Leo's older brother act right now.

"No can do, Leonardo," Don stated matter-of-factly. "I _have_ to get this interdimensional communicator functioning properly. Someone has been trying to get through to us for days, but something is interfering with the signal. I have yet to determine if it's my device, or if something is purposely jamming the frequency. So, I either have to get this working properly...or find a way to get around a block if that is the case. I've never had this much trouble pinpointing the source of the problem before!"

"Don," Leo chided, "you will think better on a full stomach. That big brain of yours needs fuel."

The blue banded turtle gently grabbed Don's arm in an attempt to guide him out of the lab and to the kitchen. Don forcefully yanked himself out of Leo's grasp and turned his shell to him.

"I'm fine Leo...now please leave, I have work to do."

Leo sighed, "Fine, Don, have it your way. I'll have Mike save some of the pizza for you in the fridge."

Don waved a dismissive hand. "Don't hold your breath, Leo. The day Mike leaves left over pizza is the day I tear up my college degree and give up inventing all together."

Leo shook his head and left. That genius could be so stubborn and obsessive sometimes...

Donatello half-listened to Leo leave and let out a breath of relief. Leo could be quite insistent sometimes, so thankfully this time he gave up without too much argument.

Don grabbed his pencil and thoughtfully glanced over his notes again for what felt like the umpteenth time. He went over his calculations, meticulously checking for any error. He was aware of his fatigue and knew it was affecting his mental capacity...but he had been over his work so many times, so if there was an error, he should have caught it a while ago.

"What am I missing?" he rubbed his temples in an attempt to hold off his mounting headache. "Something _must_ be blocking the transmission. I have gone over this device dozens of times, and as far as calculations and mechanics go, it should be functioning perfectly. So...there must be a block on a wavelength I have never encountered before. So the million dollar questions are: how do I break the block, and who is trying to reach us?"

He stood up and began pacing his lab, arms behind his shell. He stared at the ground, deep in thought. His frustration with the predicament was growing. Don was typically patient by nature, but his lack of progress, mixed with hunger and fatigue were proving to make him quite irritable. It also did nothing to lighten his mood when he heard a boisterous knock on his lab opening. Don's head snapped up and noted it was Michelangelo with a plate of pizza in his hands.

"Hey, Donnie," Mike gave a small wave. "Leo said you didn't want to be bothered, but I thought you might like some pizza, dude...and then I couldn't help but hear you mention wavelengths...are you going surfing without me?"

That earned a small amused grin from Don. He was also a little touched that Mike was offering some of his beloved pizza to him, and actually smelling it made him realize just how hungry he was.

Donatello took the offered pizza and sat down at his desk.

"No Mike," Don said between bites. "I'm just baffled with a problem...someone has been trying to get through to us on my interdimensional communicator, but something is blocking it. I cannot even find the correct wavelength to get through."

Most of the time, Don's explanations hurt Mike's head, and now was no different. "Well, bro, I really have no idea what you are talking about, but I _do_ know that when I see a totally tubular wave, I cannot go through it on my surfboard. I'd have a major wipeout! I have to ride the wave, dude."

Donatello's eyes widened in epiphany. "Of course! Why didn't I think of that sooner? Mike, you're a genius!"

Mike was taken aback. "I am? I mean...of course I am, dude! I've always known that."

Donatello picked up his pencil and began writing more notes with renewed vigor. "I've been so focused on trying to break through the block, when I should just pinpoint the block and run my signal along it instead of though it!"

"Glad I could help, dude," Mike said as he turned to leave. "Surfing solves all wrongs."


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own TMNT…that honor goes to Nick.**

Donatello, despite his growing fatigue, kept toiling along late into the night. Such late night work was not unusual for him. His screwdriver was busy as he finished a device to connect to the inter-dimensional communicator to tune into the signal block. He was finally able to triangulate the frequency of the block and his new device would allow him to piggyback his communicator's signal along with it in order to allow the message to get through.

"Just a few more millimeters…and…" – he yawned – "almost done…" his eyes began closing, and he jerked his head up, shaking it to try to keep himself awake. Yawning once more, he stated with satisfaction, "There, that should do it."

He placed the screwdriver down in order to grab his pencil and finish up on his notes.

"Should be working perfectly now," he murmured to himself. "I just need to…" but at this point his exhaustion won. His head leaned onto his notebook and he slumped forward onto his desk, snoring lightly.

"Hey Donatelloooooo…" came a sing-songy voice from outside the door, "you awake? I saw your light was still on and was going to see if you wanted to head topside and catch a late night flick with me. Mike and Leo are sleeping…so –"

Raphael snickered slightly to himself at the sight of his brainiac brother sleeping at his desk, surrounded by various tools and papers.

"That Don," Raph whispered, "such a workaholic."

Raphael grabbed a blanket from a closet in Don's lab and draped it over the sleeping turtle's shoulders. He cared deeply for his brothers, but was too proud to outwardly show it most of the time.

"There! Don't tell anyone I did that for ya," Raph said as he turned to leave and head to the movies solo. "Especially Mikey; he'd never let me live this down."

Don mumbled something unintelligibly in his sleep.

"Glad we agree," Raph quipped.

Leonardo awake with a yawn and a graceful stretch only a master ninja could achieve. He glanced at his alarm clock, noting it was 5:55 am. Per usual, he had risen before it had gone off, his own "internal alarm clock" serving him well. Sometimes the leader wondered why he bothered to set the thing at all.

_Perfect!_ He thought enthusiastically. _Time for early morning practice!_

He always awoke earlier than his brothers to go train before they joined him at 7 am. Most of the time, he had to wake them up himself. Leo was the only one of the four who could be considered a "morning person." Donatello was usually up late working on some project or another. Raphael liked to head to the surface at night where he could blend in better, and sometimes would go to the movies. Michelangelo would read his comics, play video games, or indulge in any of his many other hobbies. Leonardo had attempted many times over years to convince them that to stay in top fighting form they needed to get proper rest. Most of the time, his brothers would listen to his leadership, but this was something none of them would bend on, especially since the defeat of Shredder, Krang, and Dregg three years ago. There had not been a large threat to arise in New York since that time besides the usual gangs, crime lords, and occasional mad scientists, so the three of them had been slacking off quite a bit. Leonardo had brought his concerns about this up to Splinter about a year and a half ago, and while the mutant rat had indeed agreed with his diligent son, he also remarked that they were all adults now and had to find their own paths in life. At that point, Leonardo had given up (although not without lengthy lectures on the topic at least once a week), but 7am training was something the blue banded turtle refused to let go.

Once in the dojo, he smiled warmly at Splinter who was already on his mat, meditating. His adoptive father being there before him was one constant Leo could always count on.

Splinter sensed Leo's presence and opened his eyes slowly.

"Good morning, my son," he said in greeting.

Leo bowed to the once human ninja master and replied, "Good morning, Master Splinter."

Leonardo then began his katas, getting engrossed in the grace and fluidity of his moves. It was all second nature to him, as much a part of him as pizza was to Michelangelo. Splinter watched his oldest son with pride. Leo reminded him of himself when he was a young Hamato Yoshi, full of energy and dedication to ninjitsu. Splinter still held these qualities (although age was beginning to slow him just slightly), but it was a comfort that Leo had followed in his footsteps to carry on the true ideals of the Foot Clan before Oroku Saki had taken over and warped them like a twisted metal.

An excited voice bursting into the dojo broke Splinter's train of thought.

"Leo! Leo!" Donatello ran into the room, stopping the leader mid-kata. He sheathed his twin katana behind his shell and turned his attention to his younger brother.

Leo grinned wryly and in making a rare joke said, "Gee, Don, I've never seen you so excited about morning training before."

Don shook his head, taking a moment to catch his breath. "No…Leo….the communicator…I think I got it to work. We have to listen to the message!"

Leo turned to Splinter. "Is it acceptable if we are late to practice for this, Sensei?"*

Splinter nodded. "Yes, my sons, go. I sense this is something of dire importance, especially considering the lengths someone went through to block the message from you four. I can only hope it is not who I think it is…"

Leonardo froze momentarily as a chill ran up his spine.

"Who, Master?" he asked carefully.

Splinter waved a dismissive hand at Leo. "Do not dwell on it for the moment, Leonardo. I could be getting ahead of myself."

Leo nodded quickly in acknowledgement and left the dojo with Don. Splinter's expression grew grim as his two sons retreated and the sense of foreboding grew…

After much protest, Leo and Don managed to drag Raph and Mike out of bed – only after promising Raph he could have the TV for the afternoon and Mike he could heat up some pizza to munch on.

"I cannot think on an empty stomach, dudes!" Mike remarked when they were gathered in Don's lab.

Raph crossed his arms across his plastron. "Funny, I wasn't aware you could think at all!"

"Har, har, dude!" Mike frowned. "We're only here cuz I helped Donnie get his inter-dimensional whosiwhatsit working!"

"You!?" Raph asked skeptically.

"Well," Don interjected, "he did give me the inspiration to figure out what I needed to do."

"See?" Mike blew a raspberry at his red masked brother. "I'm inspirational! Donnie even told me that I'm a genius! So this –"Mike motioned to the communicator before them, "—is all possible because I'm sooooo smart."

Raph scoffed, "Mikey you're about as inspirational as foot fungus…and if you're a genius, then I'm the mayor of New York City."

Mike scowled, "Dude, there is no way you are mayor of New York City!"

"Seriously, Mikey," Raph shook his head, "oftentimes I wonder just how many times Splinter dropped you on your head when we were babies."

Leo rolled his eyes.

"Enough you two," the leader admonished, "let's allow Donnie to work his magic."

"Magic nothing!" Don grinned widely. "This is real science!"**

Donatello switched on the communicator and the unblocking device. The view screen was static as Don worked on clearing the signal. First to come out were some garbled words trying to break through the interference. Don continued his effort, trying to clarify the transmission. The broken voice sounded vaguely familiar to him, but it was hard to place it with it being so fragmented. He adjusted the dials once again, and eventually a fuzzy image filled the screen.

"Is that…Dask?" Leo asked, leaning in to get a closer view.

"Ya, dude, I think it is!" Mike agreed in wonder. They hadn't heard from the Neutrinos in years.

"…Turtles…need help," the disjointed words came through. "Technodrome…Krang…soldiers everywhere…"

The four turtles exchanged incredulous glances. Had they heard correctly?

"Dask! Where are you?" Leo asked, his voice urgent.

Donatello grimaced and sighed in resignation. "It's a recorded transmission, Leo. He cannot hear you. It was sent about a week ago."

"Did he say 'Technodrome' and 'Krang'?" Raphael brought up. "I thought we defeated that pink Jell-O blob…and the Technodrome was in shambles! What's going on?"

Leo frowned thoughtfully. This was honestly a situation he had never figured they would have to face again. Krang was resourceful, but the Technodrome had appeared beyond repair, or so he had thought. It had been three years since he had even heard the word mentioned…and this did not sit well with him at all. If Krang had indeed managed to get the Technodrome functioning again, and if Shredder was still working with him…

"Well, dudes, what are we waiting for? Let's haul shell to Dimension X and help the Neutrinos! Donnie, fire up you dimensional portal thingamabob and let's boogie! Our compadres could be in trouble!" Mike broke Leo's train of thought. Almost as an afterthought, the youngest brother added quietly, "Kala could be in trouble."

The other three heard Mike's last comment. None of them had forgotten his obvious crush on the female Neutrino when they were younger.

"Mike," Leo began calmly, "we cannot just go rushing into this without a plan. There are just too many variables, too many unknowns. I think we should consult Master Splinter first."

Donatello nodded in agreement. "Plus…my portal generator…you guys must remember how unstable that thing always was."

"Who could forget, Donnie-boy?" Raph grinned evilly. "_Not_ one of your greater successes. It ranks right up there with your personality ray on my list of 'Don's Inventions that Suck.'"

Don shot Raph a dark glare, but didn't respond to the comment. "And it's been years since we last used it. I'm not even positive that it functions anymore."

"But…Kala…" Mike whispered.

Leo put a comforting hand on Mike's shoulder.

"We're all concerned about our friends, Mike, but like I said before, we _need_ a plan. Come on, let's go see Master Splinter."

Mike hung his head and offered no farther resistance as he followed his brothers out of the lab and toward to dojo to see Master Splinter.

**A/N: *I know in the last episode, Splinter told the turtles that he was no longer their sensei, but they were equals to him, but Leo does not strike me as the type to let go of that formality. I think he has too much of a respect for Splinter to ever completely drop that title. **

****I had to throw an Invader Zim line in there. Always one of my favorites of Professor Membrane's, so I thought it would be funny if Don said it too. **

**And, if you are reading this, I hope you enjoy and thanks for reading!**


	4. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own the TMNT!**

**A/N: Here's the next chapter! So sorry it took so long…life got in the way. I will try not to have the next chapter take so long. I don't know how I feel about this chapter….but I wanted to get it up! Thanks so much for reading, and I love reviews! Cowabunga!**

Leonardo was the first to reenter the dojo. Splinter was indeed still there, sitting on his mat as he had been when Leo and Don had left the room earlier. The ninja master was no longer meditating, however, but thoughtfully watching the doorway to the training room with a grim expression on his face. Leonardo felt that his own expression mirrored that of his sensei's perfectly.

"Master," Leo bowed to the rat when the other three turtles had arrived and gathered behind the eldest brother.

Splinter nodded in acknowledgement and motioned to the four of them with a sweep of his hand. The hardness had not left his eyes.

"Sit, my sons," he ordered gently.

The turtles complied, sitting before their adoptive father in a semi-circle. A moment of tense silence covered the dojo like an oppressive fog, each of the five mutants lost in their own tumultuous thoughts. Splinter regarded his sons, the feeling of dread which had filled him earlier continuing to grow. He had sensed earlier in his meditation that a great danger was brewing. His boys had faced many challenges over the years and always emerged triumphant, but this time he could not shake the worry for them that he felt.

"What did you find, my turtles?" he asked, breaking the silence.

Leonardo gazed uneasily at the ground, as if speaking of the predicament would make it more real, more tangible.

"Dimension X, Sensei," Leo stated, his words grave. "We got a message from the Neutrinos that Krang has returned."

"And where there's Krang…" Raphael chimed in, his voice devoid of his characteristic sarcasm. Instead his words were heavily laced with worry.

Splinter nodded in understanding. "Then most likely my ancient enemy Oroku Saki is not far behind."

"From what little we heard of the message, it sounds like Krang has gotten the Technodrome functional again. If that's the case, then it's only a matter of time before he sets his sights on Earth again…" Donnie added forlornly.

Raphael frowned deeply, but quickly caught himself and plastered a plastic smirk on his face. He briefly wondered if the others felt as concerned as his did, but he resolved to himself that he wouldn't let it show.

"I'd be willing to bet all the air in Mike's head on that, Donnie," Raph joked.

Mike's eyebrow ridges furrowed in annoyance, but he was not in the mood to make any retort. Raphael's snarkiness tended to increase when he was uneasy. Mike on the other hand (on the rare occasions that something broke through his optimism), would usually become silent. Splinter, however, was not going to tolerate Raph's facetiousness right now.

"Raphael!" he said sternly. "Now is NOT the time!"

Raph crossed his arms, mumbling to himself about how no one could appreciate a good joke.

"I suggest, my sons," Splinter said, his voice softening, "that you attempt to head to Dimension X and prevent our enemies from ever getting here at all, along with helping your friends there as well. They do not deserve Shredder and Krang's tyranny any more than we do. I will accompany you as well. I had hoped we would never hear from them again, but evil that great has a way of continually returning like the darkness after the day. They must be stopped, once and for all."

Leonardo bobbed his head in agreement. "Yes, Master."

The leader turned to Donatello.

Donatello stood and silently acknowledged Leo's apprehensive expression.

"No need to even say it, Leo. I'll get the portal working as soon as I can. How well, I cannot guarantee, but at least I will get us there." Donatello motioned to Raph. "Why don't you come aid me in the lab? It would be more expedient if I had assistance, and I get the feeling you need something to keep you busy."

Raph snorted, "Why me? I can think of plenty of ways of keeping myself busy besides playing geek in your death trap of a lab, thank you very much."

"Which is precisely why I need to keep you occupied, Raphael."

Don reached out and grabbed Raph's right arm and pulled him to his feet. Raph offered no resistance, but his facial expression read the annoyance he felt. He began following the genius to his lab. The sounds of Leo and Splinter conversing in hushed voices faded as they left.

"Besides," Don added sharply, "Leo needs to plan right now, and Mike's far too upset. He's worried about, you know, the Neutrinos."

Raph pursed his lips. "Mike's just acting like a baby, and Leo's over planning as usual. We're the Ninja Turtles…we've always kicked ass and we'll continue to kick ass."

Don noted the lack of certainty in his brother's voice. Raph was trying to hide it, but it was there, raw and exposed like a wound.

"So now that I settled that one, why don't I just go watch some TV and you can do the nerd work. I got a reputation, you know, Donnie. I was promised run of the TV today since I had to wake up at an ungodly hour and…"

Donatello interrupted his brother. "Raph, enough. You sure are in a mood today. You're acting like a hatchling! TV, seriously? When Krang is terrorizing Dimension X? It's not like you to be so selfish, Raphael. Cynical…yes…selfish…not so much."

They had reached Donatello's lab by that point and the genius pulled out the portal generator. A flurry of dust was let loose at the movement of the device that had not been moved in years. Don waved his hand to the air in front of him to try to dissipate the particles as he sneezed.

Raph pulled out a chair and flopped mopily onto it. His mouth twisted into a sardonic sneer, but his eyes betrayed his darkening mood. "Don't call me selfish, Donnie. There are endless puns I could mangle outta that word."

Pulling out his toolbox, Don didn't even glace up at Raph as he got everything organized.

"You're just acting it right now, Raphael. So what's up? I've obviously known you our whole lives and have pretty good personality profiles built up for all of us in my noggin from my studies on psychology. And knowing you, you're upset about something right now. If you want to talk about it, I'm here, but now you need to focus and help me."

Raph huffed, "Who said I'm upset about anything? I'm perfectly fine and dandy."

Don took a deep, calming breath and opened up a panel on the side of the portal generator.

"Raphael," Donatello stated, his voice devoid of emotion. "Please hand me that wrench."

Raph swiped up the wrench from the tool box and dropped it forcefully into Donatello's outstretched hand.

"See? I'm being a good little lab assistant," Raph said in a syrupy sweet voice.

Donatello was beginning to have to push back his mounting frustration with Raphael. His patience was slipping quicker than cheese off a hot slice of pizza, but he knew that losing his cool would not be beneficial right now. It took a lot to make Donatello snap, but of his all his brothers, it was usually Raphael which drove him to that point. He attempted to distract himself by pouring himself into getting the portal working. He knew he first had to get off the cover to some of the inner wiring. He loosened the bolts with the wrench and then removed the cover, exposing the wires and other circuitry underneath. He studied it for a moment, trying to figure his next move. First thing he noticed were that some of the wires had corroded and would need to be replaced.

"Raph, on my desk is a jar full of lose wires, " Don pointed over in the direction of his desk. "Could you grab it for me?"

Raphael rolled his eyes and stood up.

"Yes, O Glorious Genius…" Raph said in a mock reverent tone.

Raph found the jar and brought it over to Don. Grinning maliciously, he let it slip from his fingers where it proceeded to drop onto Don's foot. Luckily the glass did not shatter and it rolled harmlessly off to the side.

"Oops," Raph said with mock innocence, "clumsy me…"

"That's it!" Don's tolerance for Raphael's behavior had totally vacated his large brain. "This is ridiculous! I know you would consider it an insult to your testosterone level to divulge to me what is bothering you, but if you're not going to address the issue, then at least shut your beak and stop taking your repressed emotions out on me!"

"Donnie," Raph began feebly, "I told you, there's nothing –"

Don whipped his head up to glare at Raph. "At the risk of sounding just like you, you can take your lies and shove'm up your shell."

It was a rare occasion in which Raphael did not have a witty comeback, and now was one of them. Donatello was right on the money with that one. Thus, Raph was silent for many introspective, dragging minutes. He observed Donatello working as he listened to the clock sluggishly tick away the seconds, idly wondering if a side effect of the conglomeration of his brother's inventions in the lab was a local slowing of time. The theory had merit…

He shook his head slightly to clear his thoughts. Even in his own mind, he was avoiding the issue. What would he usually say in a situation such as this? Oh, yah! Denial is not just a river in Egypt, or something of that nature.

As much as the wise guy hated to admit – even to himself – worry was beginning to take root in his mind and wind its coiling tendrils throughout his being. To put it simply, Raphael was aware that they (aside from "Mister Perfect" Leonardo) were out of practice. The threats these last few years after they banished Shredder and Krang and defeated Dregg had been few and far between. Leo had been on his brothers to keep up with their training, but the other three hadn't seen as much a use for it anymore. The hour they spent in the dojo every morning was nothing like the intense training they had done when they were younger. Raphael had taken it upon himself to patrol on some nights, but comparing breaking up a mugging to taking on the Technodrome was like comparing McCrump's pizza to Vinnie's.

Raphael detested feeling this way, but try as hard as he could since they heard the transmission, he couldn't rid himself of it. It buzzed in his mind like a bothersome mosquito. He usually wasn't a mutant turtle who over analyzed a situation (that was Don's job), but the vagueness of the current state of affairs was gnawing at his confidence.

Three years was a long time, and there was no telling how decked out the Technodrome would be, or how big an army Shredder could have amassed in that time. All they had to go on was a disjointed message that was a week old.

Also, to add insult to injury, Raph did feel guilty about taking his apprehensive mood out on Donatello. Raph reveled in giving his brothers a hard time, but a part of him knew that he should be toning it down and giving Don the help he needed to get the portal working.

"Donnie – I –" Raph began haltingly, still grasping for words. "I'm sorry, ok? There, I am totally dressing my testosterone level in a frilly pink tutu now."

Don shrugged indifferently. "If that's the way you want to perceive it, be my guest…but apology accepted. If it's any consolation, Raphael, I'm apprehensive too. There are so many variables this time, so many unknowns. We have no idea in the slightest what we are getting ourselves into."

Donatello began replacing the corroded wires with proficient speed, his own mind running through the countless scenarios which could possibly be awaiting them in Dimension X, many of them not very pleasant.


	5. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own the TMNT.**

**A/N: Yay! It's April!**

There were many things April O'Neil made sure she didn't take for granted anymore, and one of them was a nice, hot shower. With a towel wrapped around her hair, she tightened her bathrobe around her waist as she headed to her kitchen to get a cup of coffee. She recalled a time, not so long ago, when a relaxing shower was a rare luxury. That was during her time with Channel 6, when life was much more chaotic than it was now. After years of being repeatedly kidnapped climaxing in the destruction of the Channel 6 building, she had decided to branch out on her own and try to gain some sense of normalcy in her life. Now that she was an experienced freelance reporter, life had become more predictable and routine. That was what she had wanted when she made the conscious decision to distance herself some from her reptilian friends and leave that life behind. The turtles would always hold a special place in her heart and she would always be there for them if they needed help, but she made it a point to not get into the thick of their battles anymore.

Steaming cup of coffee in hand, she headed into her bedroom to get dressed. She donned the jeans and yellow V-neck she had set out for herself the night before and sat down at her desk. Placing down the mug of coffee, she opened her laptop, ready to type up her next report. Her fingers hovered within millimeters of the keyboard when she was interrupted by a faint alert from her closet. She stood up, confused.

"That's odd –" she mused thoughtfully, "that sounds like my old TurtleCom. The guys haven't called me on that in years."

Donatello had updated the turtles' own communicators a few years ago, and thus weren't in tune with April's anymore. Don had offered to make her a new one as well, but she refused telling him that her cellphone would suffice if the ninjas ever needed to get in touch with her. She kept her old TurtleCom for nostalgia's sake more than anything else; yet here it was, beeping after so many years of silence.

She pulled out a box from the floor of her closet and drew out the TurtleCom. She flipped open the compact-looking device, fully expecting to see Mike or Raph on the screen in the throes of pulling some sort of prank on her. Instead, she was caught completely off guard when she was beholden to the panicked face of Kala the Neutrino, a face she had not seen in a long time. The reporter gasped in shock, a part of her knowing that something extreme must have occurred for the Neutrinos to be calling her.

"Kala?" April asked, feeling her heart beginning to beat nervously in her chest.

"A-april?" came Kala's hushed reply. "Is that you?

"Yes, Kala, it's me. What's going on? Is everything ok?"

A wave of relief passed over Kala's features, but her eyes were still heavy with fear. From what April remembered of the fun-loving Neutrinos, this was not a characteristic emotion for them.

"Oh thank the Grand Grybyx I got through to someone! We were about to give up…" the orange haired female breathed. "We need help pronto, April! We need the turtles. It's Krang…"

April's eyes widened at the mention of the ex-warlord.

"Krang? How?" she asked incredulously.

Dask's face entered the screen next to Kala's.

"It's total crazyville here, April. He's totally decked out the Technodrome and he's got a freaky new body, dig?"

April nodded numbly in acknowledgment.

"Our city has been trashed," he added. "We need to split this scene before the soldiers find us, but our Starcruiser is almost outta juice. I don't think our first message has gotten through, so we hooked up our TurtleCom to the interdimensional communicator."

Kala's blue eyes silently pleaded into April's own.

"The turtles are cool cats, April; I know they can help us. You gotta tell them!"

"I'll tell them right away, Neutrinos, I promise."

"Thanks, kitten," Dask smiled slightly. "Tell the turtles we are in the capital city."

Dask cut the transmission, and April stared at the blank screen for a few moments in a state of disbelief before coming to her senses and knowing she needed to take action.

"So much for not getting involved in the turtles' affairs anymore…" she exhaled a shaky breath. "Things always seem to come full circle, as unpleasant as they are."

She hastily slipped on her boots, grabbed her purse, and rushed out the door to head to the turtles' lair. The reporter resolved to herself that news such as this was best delivered in person. It appeared that her simple life wasn't going to be so simple anymore.


End file.
